Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts
by YumKiwiDelicious
Summary: "Stiles, who are those for?" "Me," he answered much too quickly, only realizing his mistake when the green eyed man frowned deeply at him. His heart had practically skipped a beat at the lie. "What…man can't enjoy Hawaii's gift to the world?" he questioned weakly, reading the box where it quivered in his hand. "Stiles, you're allergic to chocolate."


Besides the unhealthy overflow of spring colored flowers and cartoon bunnies plastered everywhere, nothing was particularly special about today. Of course, there was the surprisingly high number of Beacon Hill residents that were out and about looking for some animal shaped marshmallows and neon colored baskets, but the select few people that actually acknowledged and celebrated Easter were to be expected. A holiday whose religious aspects had fallen to the waste side and now revolved around the idea of a rather rambunctious rabbit leaving polka-dotted eggs hidden for children was something even the gloomiest hermit could get into. Not that Derek was a hermit. Or there to pick up polka-dotted eggs.

He hadn't been on the alert for anything out of the ordinary when he walked into the grocery store. Why should he have been? He came here twice a month to restock his pantry and brave the everlasting battle between Captain Crunch and Coco Puffs. The fact that more people than usual would be there that day to pick up last minute assorted bags of candy on their way to some church gathering was not going to stop him. He had just grouchily set down the box sporting the orange bird when a familiar scent wafted into his nostrils from a few aisles down. His brow furrowed, both cereals completely forgotten as he abandoned his cart and moved towards it.

Everything in the candy aisle had a distinct Easter theme to it. There were peeps of all colors and shapes and little chocolate eggs and bunnies. Every single edible item was wrapped in either lavender, yellow, or pink wrapping and almost all of them had some sort of animated rabbit smiling out from them. On the top shelves were pre-packed baskets complete with gargantuan bows and bubble blowers that promised the use of water that would not sting the eyes. Derek side stepped fellow grocery shoppers as politely as he could until coming to the center of the aisle where he found his longtime boyfriend and even longer time housemate fiddling worriedly with a slim, rectangular box.

"Stiles?"

The young man's heart rate jumped worriedly as he looked up and Derek frowned. He had stashed the box behind his back, free hand reaching up to run his fingers through his short hair like he did whenever he was caught with his hand in the figurative cookie jar. As Derek approached, he edged away from the shelf he had just been examining and smiled shakily.

"H-Hey, Derek," he stammered, not leaning in to bestow an overzealous kiss of greeting like he usually did despite Derek's many claims that he couldn't stand couples that were too hands on in public. "What, umm – what are you doing here?"

Derek huffed agitatedly through his nostrils because it should have been obvious what he was doing there. He came here twice a month to restock his pantry because Stiles ate like every meal was his last and the everlasting battle between Captain Crunch and Coco Puffs was because even though he preferred the later, Stiles liked to point out that it made him look like he was eating kibble with a spoon. In the list of shared house chores, grocery shopping had always been under Derek's name because Stiles couldn't be trusted and up until this very moment Derek had no idea if Stiles even knew where the closest grocery store was.

Stiles seemed to realize the ridiculousness of his question the longer his boyfriend went without answering him and eventually just nodded as if he'd heard what he wanted to and turned back to the shelf. He looked so out of place in the current surroundings of streamers and marshmallows. The box he had in his hand was now pressed to his thigh on the opposite side of his body from Derek. The wolf leaned slightly to catch a glimpse of it but Stiles shifted away, fixing him with a painfully forced smile.

"Stiles, what is that?" he asked, trying not to let his alpha tone slip out because even though Stiles was pack and his mate, he hated being ordered around. They had gotten into countless fights on Derek's authority versus Stiles' and one had even ended with poor Isaac being made to sit, stand, hop around, and even lay flat as they each tried to assert dominance over the other. In the end, however, it had been alright since they realized that even though Stiles held a similar sway over the betas as Derek, Derek's sway over him was not as powerful, especially if he wasn't trying. They'd agreed he would never try to force Stiles into anything after that.

"Oh, this?" Stiles questioned, looking at the box now as if he hadn't even realized he was carrying it. Derek nodded and the thin man shrugged, turning it towards him. "Just some…chocolate covered macadamia nuts, why?"

"Stiles, who are those for?"

"Me," he answered much too quickly, only realizing his mistake when the green eyed man frowned deeply at him. His heart had practically skipped a beat at the lie. "What…man can't enjoy Hawaii's gift to the world?" he questioned weakly, reading the box where it quivered in his hand.

"Stiles, you're allergic to chocolate," Derek huffed growing steadily more irritated and suspicious the longer his boyfriend's mouth moved noiselessly to form an explanation that would undoubtedly be a lie. Stiles was allergic to chocolate and in an act of thoughtfulness, Derek also refrained from eating it so that box in the youngest Stilinski's hand clearly wasn't for him. "Who is that for?"

"I told you already," Stiles bemoaned, looking as if he wanted to shove his hands in his pockets but was unable to due to the treacherous chocolate. "I'm getting it for me."

"I can hear that you're lying," Derek reminded lowly, a certain hint of danger sliding into his voice as he reached forward and snatched the box out of Stiles' hand probably more forcefully than he should have. The blazer clad youth squawked indignantly and Derek noticed for the first time that he was dressed slightly more formal than usual. A growl began low down in his chest and he knew his eyes were bleeding red from the way Stiles' heart rate spiked. "Where exactly are you going with these?"

"Give 'em back!" Stiles ordered making a flailing grab for the box. Derek pulled them out of his reach, bearing his teeth in warning as hurt began to seep into his chest. People were beginning to glance over warily. Stiles huffed, cheeks flushed in what Derek assumed was shame as he took his hands back. "It's none of your business where I'm going and those are mine!"

"Stiles, just tell me where you're-"

"I'm not a damn child!" Stiles all but shouted suddenly. "I'm 22 years old, dude, I can buy whatever the hell I want and I don't have to check with you first!" Derek started, flinching back as Stiles' eyes zoomed around the aisle which had quickly emptied as people realized they were about to witness a lovers' tiff. Derek could hear his heart beating erratically within his chest and knew from experience if he didn't calm down soon he would be having a full blown panic attack. He tried to reach for him but he pulled away rather violently, his hands beginning to shake.

"Calm down," Derek tried to coach, forgetting for the moment that he had found his boyfriend at the grocery store buying chocolates for someone that wasn't him and obviously no one else in the pack or even his father if he was this jumpy. "You're getting worked up."

"Give me the chocolate," Stiles bit out, hands curled into fists at his side as he made an obvious effort to keep himself from pacing back and forth like a caged animal. Derek felt his heart twist. He had trapped Stiles. He held out the chocolate.

His near hyperventilating boyfriend snatched it from his hands, cradling it to his chest as he attempted to catch his breath, looking everywhere except for Derek, his pupils dilated in the onsets of an attack. Derek held his hands up palms out to him, instinctively beginning to do one of the breathing exercises they had learned to ease Stiles' attacks. He hadn't had one in years, but Derek had insisted they learn them just in case. He inhaled (feeling his stomach expand beneath his black shirt) for 5 seconds, held his breath for 2 seconds, and then slowly exhaled over another 5 seconds. He repeated this process and eventually Stiles began to unknowingly mimic him, moving slowly across the aisle, fingers drumming the box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts unconsciously.

"I didn't mean to upset you," he announced softly once he was confidant Stiles was out of danger. He was still pacing while doing the 5-2-5 count, but his heart rate was starting to even out.

"You know," he wheezed out, moving his free hand in front of him in a turning motion as he tried to find his words, "I-I-I'm an adult and…and you can't just-"

"I know," the alpha assured, eyes flitting down to his shoes before he looked back up at Stiles, "I just wanted to know why would be buying something you're allergic to."

"Hey, if I want to stuff myself on something that'll make my airways swell up and close possibly leading to my untimely demise, then that's my choice-" He pointed a finger into his chest finally looking up at Derek from beneath his thick lashes. "Not yours."

"I know," Derek ground out feeling like he should have a say in whether or not his mate ate himself into a coma due to oxygen deprivation. Stiles nodded once, going back to his pacing as Derek took a deep breath. Stiles didn't smell sickly in any way and the usual over powering smell of anything chocolate was muted under its plastic wrappings. Stiles hadn't eaten any of it. "But…what are you doing?"

The young man let out a long suffering sigh as he held the box out in front of him, stopping his pacing in the middle of the aisle. He turned so that he was facing his boyfriend and he huffed, arms flopping out at his sides as he rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. He was wearing a blazer over a plain white t-shirt, nice jeans and a clean pair of Converse and Derek realized with sudden clarity where he had been planning to take the chocolate. He shifted his weight, having to fight back the urge to take his boyfriend into his arms as he nodded. Stiles looked back at him finally and could tell his boyfriend had caught on as he looked down at the macadamia nuts with a sniff.

"Mom always liked Easter," he explained lowly, feet shuffling as he turned to face the shelf as he had been doing when Derek came upon him. The last remaining Hale mimicked him, standing shoulder to shoulder with his mate. "She wasn't really religious, but-" He shrugged. "-She figured, hey, a reason to eat all the chocolate you wanted without anyone saying anything because that'd be bigotry."

He laughed shortly, clearing his throat as he glanced down the aisle. People were slowly beginning to filter back in now that the fight appeared to have passed. Derek took this moment to look down at the box Stiles held. Of all the brightly colored, festive candy products, Stiles had managed to grab the one thing that would probably be there year round. The brown eyed boy caught his boyfriend staring and shrugged again at his questioning eyebrow raise.

"These were her favorite," he explained, lip plumping out in thought, "She couldn't stand all this sugary, gooey crap." He waved a hand at the wall of diabetes in front of him, eyebrows raised in awe inspired dismissal. Derek nodded, reaching out slower this time and taking the box gently from his mate's hand. The younger man gave him a questioning look and he shook the box near their eye level.

"I'll pay for these," he insisted, turning to head out of the aisle knowing Stiles would follow close behind. He ignored his protests to the idea, tossing the box into his cart which surprisingly hadn't been moved since he left to sniff out Stiles. "Help me finish grocery shopping. We're completely out of waffles thanks to you."

Stiles shut up about the chocolate, finally leaning in to deliver a completely over the top smooch to his mate's cheek, complete with an exaggerated "Mwuah!" as he pulled away. Derek forced down the smile, instead choosing to growl low in his chest in a way that only had Stiles smiling more. Scooting his hips over so that he could help push the cart, he leaned into Derek's side and the two of them continued down the aisle together on their way to the frozen foods section, the chocolate covered macadmia nuts resting safely in their basket.


End file.
